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Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote "Emile" in 1762, his work that supported a natural way of learning. He believed that children learn best through their own freedom and curiosity rather than formal instruction. Rosseau's belief was that "adults should interfere as little as possible." -
Pestalozzi
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi lived 1746-1827, he was also a philosopher of Education who believed in natural learning, however, he took it a bit further by adding sensory to help create an experience that would help the reading process. Pestalozzi included lessons with touch, smell, language, size and shape. -
Froebel
Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel (1782-1852) A believer in natural learning who stressed the importance of play in learning. He was the first to design lessons plans that involved objects and materials. He coined the term " kindergarten" which means children's garden. -
Piaget
Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive developments details the abilities of children at different stages of cognitive development. Piaget believed that the child acquires knowledge by interacting with the world. Examples of language development: talking, listening to stories, and describing. -
Montessori
Maria Montessori believed children need early instruction to learn and master skills. Montessori created an environment with materials to obtain a specific skill. Also similar to Pestalozzi, she focused on the sense to help children learn. Another type of instruction she focused on was the sounds of letters instead of the names. -
Dewey
John Dewey believed in a child-centered curriculum, "progressive education," that was built upon each child's interest. Curiosity of one's interests is what drove their ability to learn information and skills. -
Emergent Literacy
Emergent Literacy theory was created by Marie Clay that says children learn literacy through models helping their skills in reading, writing and speaking. "Children develop literacy very early in life in their home before even coming to school. Literacy development is ongoing throughout life." Exposing children to books early in life, learning happens before children get to school and creates an impact on their learning style and development. -
Vygotsky
Lev S. Vygotsky's theory "suggests learning occurs as children acquire new concepts." Uses the idea of scaffolding to teach and change topics. "These concepts are considered schema which are mental structures where people store information." He believes new concepts are developed through children interacting with others who provide feedback for their thoughts. -
Balanced Comprehensive Approach
No single practice or single combination of methods are successful for all children. Teachers must know the social, emotional, physical, and intellectual status of the children they teach. They must be well versed in the various processes involved and methods for reading instruction. -
National Reading Panel
The U.S. Department of Education established a panel that would collect research and evidence composed to find the best ways to teach a child to read. There are 5 components of reading- phonetic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency. -
National Early Literacy Panel Report
The panel studied children from ages of birth to five, in order to discover how their abilities reflect their proficiency in reading later on. Once they determine the abilities that determine success in reading for children, they look at the environmental factors. Kindergarteners should master the letters and sounds of the alphabet, phonological awareness, identifying colors, writing their name and letters, and comprehending spoken language. -
No Child Left Behind
The U.S. Congress reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which provided funding and help for disadvantaged children. Established measurable goals that would improve students ability for success. -
Common Core State Standards
Goals are established among schools in the U.S. that prepare students from Kindergarten to 12th grade to be ready for college or the workforce. The way the Common Core State Standards are taught vary among teacher to teacher in different states. -
Read to Succeed
Act 284, Read to Succeed legislation, was created in 2015 to address literacy performance in South Carolina and put in place a comprehensive system of support to ensure SC students graduate on time with the literacy skills they need to be successful in college, careers and citizenship. Act 284 provides for a strong assessment and intervention system for students kindergarten through twelfth grade with a goal of all students becoming proficient readers by the end of third grade. -
References
Morrow, L. M. (2020). Literacy development in the early years: helping children read and write (9th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
